jwo1124 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 Early last year I bought a 6' MH Lightning Rod at Wal-Mart. I have to say for a $35 rod, it is a good buy. I have found two problems with the rod though. First, the front cork grip broke into two pieces...which really isn't that big a deal, but still. The second problem is: when fishing a 1/2 spinnerbait on the rod, the tip of the rod seems like it is getting over loaded. When retrieving the lure through the water it just causes a lot of pull on the rod. I don;t know if it is because the rod is shorter than I'm used to, or because it is a spinning rod. I'm used to fishing with compostie rods, so maybe just the fast taper of the rod is new to me, but it just didn;t sem right. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm guessing that it is just because I'm dragging a 1/2 spinnerbait with two big Blades and the vibration is just so strong that it's causing the tip to pull down, and it's probably just new to me since like I said I'm used to compostie and glass rods with whippy, less responsive tips. Quote
RobbyZ5001 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 My cork broke too. Honestly that lightning rod was just trouble for me. Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted January 2, 2008 Super User Posted January 2, 2008 I have to say for a $35 rod, it is a good buy. I have found two problems with the rod though. First, the front cork grip broke into two pieces...which really isn't that big a deal...The second problem is... Huh? What makes that a "good buy"? :-? Quote
TournyFish001 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I have to say for a $35 rod, it is a good buy. I have found two problems with the rod though. First, the front cork grip broke into two pieces...which really isn't that big a deal...The second problem is... x2- what? :-/ Huh? What makes that a "good buy"? :-? Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 If you're looking for a good buy in the $40 range, get a Shimano Convergence. The cork won't break, and the rod is very durable for the money. I've had one for a couple years that got a lot of abuse, and it is still intact. Quote
ABC123 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 Contact Berkley, there customer service has been very good in the past. Are these the new rods, or the older rods??? They changed the rods in the middle of last year. They have new grips, seats, and cork. Could be the new components are not as good as the older ones. Quote
Jake P Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 Ive been lookin at lightnin rods for a couple of days tryin to decide if i should buy one or not, from the reviews ive seen on basspro.com theyre not bad. Is it worth the 35$ for a person whos on a budget? If not what are some other suggestions for 30-40$ rods? Quote
Super User Jeff H Posted January 3, 2008 Super User Posted January 3, 2008 Ive been lookin at lightnin rods for a couple of days tryin to decide if i should buy one or not, from the reviews ive seen on basspro.com theyre not bad. Is it worth the 35$ for a person whos on a budget? If not what are some other suggestions for 30-40$ rods? Like was mentioned above, the Shimano Convergence is a better rod for the money. Way better in my opinion. Give them a look. Quote
RobbyZ5001 Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I agree with Jeff H and Tokyo tony go with the shimano convergence! Quote
jwo1124 Posted January 3, 2008 Author Posted January 3, 2008 The rod fishes well for a $35 rod, I can't attest to the breaking of the front cork handle, but as Robby put it, it was due to over tightening the handle. Now, should a rod do that...?...probably not, but it could be seen as a mistake on my part. I was thinking about going with shimano rods too, so funny you guys mentioned them. Quote
Big T Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 The rod fishes well for a $35 rod, I can't attest to the breaking of the front cork handle, but as Robby put it, it was due to over tightening the handle. Now, should a rod do that...?...probably not, but it could be seen as a mistake on my part.I was thinking about going with shimano rods too, so funny you guys mentioned them. I have had Shimano rods due the same thing. I made the mistake of buy a Shimano Carbomax rod for inshore fishing. The rod was a MH rated for up to 1 oz. of weight. I tied on a flounder rig with 1 oz of weight and the tip snapped three inches from the top on the first cast. I carried it back and exchanged it for another. Took the second rod home and went to put the reel on and the foregrip split in two when I tighten the reel down. Carried that rod back and put a little money with it and bought something esle. That experience burned me on Shimano's cheaper rods. I have broken three of them. I will not buy anything lower than a Clarus from them. I recently bought a LR from Bass Pro for $13, will see how it performs, if it sucks then I have not lost much money. Big T Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I have had Shimano rods due the same thing. I made the mistake of buy a Shimano Carbomax rod for inshore fishing. The rod was a MH rated for up to 1 oz. of weight. I tied on a flounder rig with 1 oz of weight and the tip snapped three inches from the top on the first cast. I carried it back and exchanged it for another. Took the second rod home and went to put the reel on and the foregrip split in two when I tighten the reel down. Carried that rod back and put a little money with it and bought something esle. That experience burned me on Shimano's cheaper rods. I have broken three of them. I will not buy anything lower than a Clarus from them. I recently bought a LR from Bass Pro for $13, will see how it performs, if it sucks then I have not lost much money. Big T Wow, I'm surprised by your experience - you must have gotten really unlucky...I used a pair of Carbomaxes when I used to fish inshore in the Miami, FL area, and they lasted for years before I lost them in the move to CT. I thought they were great... Quote
Super User islandbass Posted January 3, 2008 Super User Posted January 3, 2008 Ive been lookin at lightnin rods for a couple of days tryin to decide if i should buy one or not, from the reviews ive seen on basspro.com theyre not bad. Is it worth the 35$ for a person whos on a budget? If not what are some other suggestions for 30-40$ rods? Like was mentioned above, the Shimano Convergence is a better rod for the money. Way better in my opinion. Give them a look. I back that up too. You will have a lighter (in weight rod) and better guides to boot for just a few more $$$. And this is coming from someone who has a Lightning Rod. They are relatively heavy. You won't notice it until you wield it and then wield a lighter rod. If you have a sportsman's warehouse nearby, check them out. The ones in my area were selling $89 compres (two models above the convergence) for about $45. Now that would be a deal and a half. Quote
Masshole Mike Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 i'm gonna have to go with everyone else that said shimano convergence. i've got one for my baitcast setup and i haven't had a problem with it. Quote
Ballpark Frank Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 I have several Lightning Rods, they were the only rod I liked and could afford for awhile. Every single one of them had the front cork break. I fixed them and still use a couple of them today. They are decent rods for the money, and my understanding is that the front cork screw-down is different than the last model. I have a friend that has several of the Shimano rods and really likes them. To my knowledge he has had no problems with them. Quote
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